


Not a Child Anymore

by lanapanda



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-22
Updated: 2012-11-22
Packaged: 2017-11-19 06:19:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanapanda/pseuds/lanapanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What Tony shared with Bruce couldn't be replaced, bought or sold. No wonder Howard didn't understand his son's reaction to being brought back "home" to live a "normal life".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not a Child Anymore

**Author's Note:**

> Set in an AU that I play with darksquall — wherein Bruce and Tony were college roommates (for all too brief a time). ~1000 words, give or take.

“Tony, what are you doing?” Howard Stark watched his son shut the door to his room with the barest of clicks. He’d disappeared from the party two hours prior, and Howard had made a full headcount of all the young ladies in attendance in that time, and found none missing.  
  
“Oh, trying not to wake up Mrs. Edlebrooke. The woman snores like a bear though, so I imagine she didn’t hear me leave,” Tony replied with a cheerful smile and began wiping lipstick marks off of his neck with a lace handkerchief.   
  
Howard closed his eyes. “You didn’t. Tony, not Mrs. Edlebrooke — her husband is on the Board of Directors for God’s sake, you can’t just —”   
  
“Well it would have been  _Miss_  Edlebrooke, but the old lady never gave us a moment’s time alone. Besides, Mr. Edlebrooke is in Paraguay or somewhere and the dear Missus has sitting power-of-attorney so whatever it is you’re trying to get passed should be a done deal,” Tony smirked and straightened his collar.   
  
There were buttons missing on the finely-stitched white dress shirt. There were also lipstick marks at the collar and the shoulder of said shirt and scuff marks on the knees of his pants, but Tony walked down the hall with an utterly shameless stride. Like a prince with the world at his bare feet.   
  
Like a young man with nothing left to lose.   
  
“Tony, you can’t keep doing this.”   
  
“Oh I agree — she was terribly sloppy. I don’t even want those sheets anymore.”   
  
“Tony…”   
  
“I’ll pick out new ones in time for the company party on tomorrow eve, don’t worry, Father.”   
  
“Tony.”   
  
“Maybe something lavender… that would make me seem  _quite_  sensitive and innocent.”   
  
“ _Tony_ _!_ ”   
  
“What?” Tony glanced back at his father from half-way down the hall.   
  
The dark eyes that met Howard’s held no trace of the anger he’d come to expect. No sense of triumph. If anything, Howard thought, Tony looked even more lost than he had the day Howard had him ‘retrieved’ from the university. For his own good, of course. That Banner fellow… had not worked out as planned.  
  
Howard shook his head and tried again. “You can’t keep doing this, son. You’re —”   
  
“Not fucking a guy anymore, so what do you care? This is what  _you wanted_. I don’t know why I keep having to remind you, over and over, that this is just what  _you_  asked for.” Tony turned away from his father as he had many times in the past few years when caught like this, and kept walking down the hall.   
  
This time was different, however. This time, Howard pursued.   
  
“You’re not a child anymore, Tony. You’ve been throwing this same tantrum for five years and it’s gone on long enough. If you don’t stop, there’s not going to be anyone left for you to settle down with. Build a legacy…”  Howard caught up to his son and put a hand on his shoulder.   
  
Tony paused. He was conscious of the fact that he was making a fist, but more than that, he was conscious of the street lamp and the way that the light from it streaming through the barely opened window would cast a wide slice of pale blue light across his feet on the carpet.   
  
He caught the scent of the roses drifting in from the garden, and the cool breeze that carried it. Tony was also aware of his father’s hand on his shoulder, an unwelcome weight. He could feel his own skin — a layer of heat that was not from the meaningless orgasm he’d left just down the hall, but from his rising temper that he knew was about to slip its leash. Tony could feel and was aware of all of those things, and yet…  
  
Not even Tony was prepared for how fast he turned and hit his own father, full force, in the gut. Tony’s hand hurt, so he knew his father wasn’t faking when he doubled over in a wheeze. He shifted his stance and braced for retaliation, but none was forthcoming. The old man was getting older, it seemed.   
  
“You want a legacy? Which one of these moronic, weak-willed, shameless fucktoys would you like me to breed with, Father?” Tony’s voice started softly, then rapidly grew in volume,”a daughter of one of your colleagues? Fucked them all. A business associate that you need a deal with? Fucked all the daughters there, too. There  _IS NO LEGACY WITH THESE STUPID WHORES AND THERE NEVER WILL BE!_ ”   
  
Howard reached out towards Tony, trying to quiet him, trying to catch his breath, but Tony just plowed on.   
  
“You could have had your legacy if you’d left us alone. I was making the grades, wasn’t I? I was doing just what you wanted in front of all the right people at all the right times. But fuck YOU. FUCK. YOU. You couldn’t leave well enough alone. I would have bred with some stupid slut for you to have your grandkids before you did this, but now…  _now_ …? You took everything. YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME THAT MEANT ANYTHING! You bring up this… this BULLSHIT about me getting married…  you mention it one more fucking time and I swear to GOD that I will fuck every man, woman and first born child from here to Jersey and leave you to figure it out.”   
  
Tony was trembling when he turned away and stalked down the hallway.  Howard heard the door to the guest bathroom slam shut and it was a few moments more before he could breathe properly. Another glance down the hall revealed Mrs. Caroline Edlebrooke adjusting the collar of her gown, and their eyes met. Neither of them had the decency to blush, but given present circumstances…  
  
“I’ll just… escort you downstairs, shall I?” Howard offered his arm and his best social smile.   
  
“Oh surely, dear,” Caroline cooed at him and took his arm. “You always throw the most delightful parties.”


End file.
